Letters to the Editor April 25, 2013

Thursday

Apr 25, 2013 at 3:15 AM

To the editor:Rep. Bill Noon deserves praise for taking on an important environmental issue — the mountains of plastic bags that come through our stores and into our homes, usually to wind up in landfills or blowing down the street or snagging in bushes or trees. Noon proposes that shoppers who want to use the bags — which, as you point out, can be handy for scooping poop and containing household waste — pay 10 cents per bag at the store. The money would go toward recycling efforts. It’s a sensible proposal that deserves serious debate.Unfortunately, your April 11 editorial greeted it with scorn, condescension, and some strange “facts.”For example, you stated that plastic bags were ushered in by the “green” movement because they save trees. Saving trees, which can be replanted, at the expense of producing plastic doesn’t sound too green to me. Neither does your assertion that canvas or nylon bags — by far the best choice for shoppers — can be used for “a few months.” I’ve had most of mine for years. When they get dirty, I wash them. I’d no more go back to all plastic bags than I’d switch to disposable plastic shirts.

There’s no real argument to be made for plastic bags beyond their convenience. And there are plenty of arguments against them, which is why some communities are banning them altogether. Noon is hoping to nudge shoppers in the right direction. Good for him.

Gail Lemley Burnett

Springvale

To the editor:Until recently, my husband and I have had health insurance provided through MaineCare. We are a low-income working family that has struggled through this recession. My husband, who suffers from several health problems, was laid off from his company when the economy tanked.

We’ve worked hard trying to get by and put everything back together, but I’m scared to think of our future without health coverage. What is going to happen to my husband when I can’t refill his medications because the doctors won’t renew the prescriptions until they see him? What will happen when we can’t control any of his conditions? This extra cost and heartache to a family, who can’t pay their medical bills, just increases health care costs for everyone.

I know our situation is not unique. There are many adults in Maine who don’t have health insurance and are counting on MaineCare to help with their health insurance needs. The federal government has set aside money to expand MaineCare for people exactly like us. Now it is the job of the Maine legislature to accept these funds and make sure everyone receives the health care they need.

Thank you.

Patty Kidder

Sanford

To the editor:As the unemployment rate hits a surge again, the administration in Augusta intensifies its campaign to thwart unemployment compensation allowance.Constant berating of the claims assessors at the unemployment offices is not helpful and will impair the decision-making process. These officers must be allowed to operate in a competent manner.If displaced workers are viewed in a negative way, then why isn’t the same distinction used for banks and investment firm giants on Wall Street who got billions in bailouts during the financial collapse that began

in 2008? They are never mentioned, and they did more damage to homeowners and taxpayers.

Why would they try to present a lower unemployment figure anyway? First, to save the money and funds so companies can keep funds. Secondly, or more importantly, to keep the official statistic deflated and improve re-election chances.

We don’t need actual figures, but lower than the national average figures, because if you’re not

collecting, you’re not unemployed (officially). By cutting or preventing more people from collecting, the state can claim low unemployment rates. This is really the ridiculous part of the argument — not considering those who aren’t collecting as part of the statistic, even though they are not working.

Statistics aside, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out in job searches that for all the positions available there are thousands of more applicants. Realistically, it’s not much better across the nation.

Maybe deflating the rate is great to help someone get re-elected by making the situation look better than it is, but a more honest and practical approach would achieve a lot more.Being unemployed is not evil and more compassion and understanding for the situation — such as offering training and job programs — can help people much more with getting back into the market.It’s not about handouts or welfare or a lack of will to get back to the job; it’s about presenting or creating opportunities of a realistic nature and redirecting resources to achieve it.